Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry was the son of Henry III, the second monarch of the Salian dynasty. His mother, Agnes of Poitou, placed him under her guardianship in 1056. Archbishop Anno II of Cologne kidnapped Henry in April 1062. Henry endeavoured to recover the royal estates that had been lost during his minority.

About Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor in brief

Summary Henry IV, Holy Roman EmperorHenry IV was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105. He was also King of Germany and Italy and Burgundy. Henry was the son of Henry III, the second monarch of the Salian dynasty. His mother, Agnes of Poitou, placed him under her guardianship in 1056. Archbishop Anno II of Cologne kidnapped Henry in April 1062. He administered Germany until Henry came of age in 1065. Henry endeavoured to recover the royal estates that had been lost during his minority. He employed low-ranking officials to carry out his new policies, causing discontent in Saxony and Thuringia. The appointment of commoners to high office offended German aristocrats, and many of them withdrew from Henry’s court. He insisted on his royal prerogative to appoint bishops and abbots, although the reformist clerics condemned this practice as simony. Pope Alexander II blamed Henry’s advisors for his acts and excommunicated them in early 1073. Henry’s conflicts with the Holy See and the German dukes weakened his position and the Saxons rose up in open rebellion in the summer of 1074. Henry adopted an active policy in Italy, alarming Pope Alexander II’s successor, Gregory VII, who threatened him with excommunication for simony. Henry went to Italy as far as Canossa to meet with the Pope. He proclaimed the first Reichsfriede which covered the whole territory of Germany in 1103.

His younger son, HenryV, forced him to abdicate on 31 December 1105, but became ill and died without receiving absolution from his excommunication. He died in the Investiture Controversy, his preeminent role in the investiture controversy, his reputation as a tyrant, with some regarding him as the stereotype of a tyrant and others describing him as an exemplary monarch. They were convinced that they were entitled to the emperorship of Holy Roman Empire and had a strong claim to the title of Emperor. They convinced their sons that their claim to empermanship was valid. Henry died in 1105 and was succeeded by his younger son Conrad II, who died in the Battle of the Bulge in 1107. He had a son, Lotharing III, who was crowned emperor in 1081. Henry had two sons, Conrad II and Lothar III, and a daughter, Lillian, who became Empress of the Holy Roman Empress. Henry also had two daughters, Lillie and Beatrice, who were married to the Duke of Bavaria, and later to Welf I, Duke of Bayern. He also had one son, Conrad IV, who fought against the Pope in 1093 and 1096. Henry and his sons were the last of the dynasty to hold the throne of Germany. Henry was also the last to be crowned emperor of Italy and Burgundy. He ruled from 1056 to 1054 and was also Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054 and Duke of Burgundy from 1052 to 1052.